If you thought rice is a benign, boring side dish, this Hashweh Lebanese Rice will change your mind! Adorned with meat, toasted nuts and raisins. And loaded with flavors from aromatics and warm Middle Eastern Spices. Hashweh makes a glorious holiday side dish, but it can be the star dish any day of the week.
See serving suggestions, and be sure to view the video tutorial for how to make hashweh.
What is Hashweh?
In our household, this Lebanese rice has been lovingly named, “dirty rice.” It is more properly known throughout the Middle East as hashweh, which literally means stuffing or stuffed.
Hashweh is a one-pot rice dish, loaded with ground or minced beef (or lamb), lots of toasted nuts and dried fruit like raisins. It is anything but bland. Expect layers of flavor in each bite, thanks to aromatics and warm Middle Eastern spices like cinnamon and allspice.
So as you can see, this loaded Lebanese rice is anything but an average “stuffing” to be tucked in or added as a side. Sure, it can be that. And it’s a must holiday side dish for me (think Thanksgiving and Christmas.)
But it can easily be the main star on any given night, don’t you agree?
How to Make Hashweh
(be sure to also watch the video tutorial below)
Hashweh is really simple to make. It takes only a few simple steps and a couple of pro tips:
1- A very important first step is to rinse and soak the rice in water for a few minutes. This helps get rid of excess starch so the rice is not sticky. It also allows the rice to cook more quickly and evenly (you end up using less water in cooking than you see in typical rice dishes.)
2- The cooking process for hashweh begin with browning the meat (you can use ground beef or lamb), along with aromatics and warm spices. We are layering flavors from the very start!
3- Once the meat is fully cooked, we add our drained rice right on top (all in one pot). We also make sure to add a little more of the same spices to carry the flavors through. Water and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil are the last couple ingredients to add. Bring to a boil until the water reduces by a lot. Then cover and cook.
4- Important tip, once the hashweh rice is fully cooked through, the best thing you can do to it is to leave it covered and undisturbed for a few minutes before uncovering it. This is important for texture and flavor.
5- To serve the hashweh rice, simply turn it onto a plate (watch my video below to see how I do it), then add all the beautifully toasted nuts and raisins, maybe a little parsley for garnish. Glorious!
What to serve with Hashweh Lebanese Rice?
Sure, this gorgeous Lebanese rice makes a great side dish. And I do often serve it as a gluten-free stuffing alternative for Thanksgiving! But, I have no shame serving it as a main course with a couple of yummy sides.
I like to turn hashweh Lebanese rice into dinner bowls with a side salad like this chickpea salad or fattoush and a little creamy roasted garlic hummus! The kind of dinner bowl equal in awesomeness to these Greek Keftedes dinner bowls or this Lebanese Fatteh!
And if you have leftover ground lamb, use it to make Greek Lamb Burgers the next night!
Watch the Video Below for How to Make Hashweh Lebanese Rice:
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Loaded Lebanese Rice: Hashweh
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
Description
This Lebanese rice pilaf called hashweh is not your ordinary rice. Loaded with lean ground beef, toasted nuts, raisins. Seasoned to perfection! See step-by-step photos below the recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups medium grain rice
- Olive oil
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 lb lean ground beef or lean ground lamb
- 1 3/4 tsp ground allspice, divided
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 3/4 tsp ground cloves, divided
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/2 cup dark raisins
Instructions
- Soak the rice in cold water for 15 minutes or until you are easily able to break one grain of rice between your thumb and index fingers. When ready, drain well.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy cooking pot. Add chopped red onions, cook on medium-high heat briefly, then add the ground beef. Season the meat mixture with 1 1/4 tsp allspice, minced garlic, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, salt and pepper. Toss together to combine. Cook until the meat is fully browned (8-10 minutes). Drain.
- Top the meat with rice. Season the rice with a little salt and the remainder of the allspice, ground cloves and cinnamon. Add 2 1/2 cups of water and 1 tbsp of olive oil to cover the rice.
- Turn heat to high and bring the liquid to a rolling boil. Let boil until the liquid has significantly reduced (see picture below).
- Now turn heat to low and cover; let cook for 20 minutes or until moisture has completely been absorbed and the rice is no longer hard nor sticky. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Uncover the rice pot and place a large round serving platter on the opening of the rice pot. Carefully flip the pot contents onto the platter so that the meat layer now tops the rice.
- Garnish with parsley, toasted pine nuts, almonds and raisins. Enjoy.
Notes
- Pro Tips: Be sure to watch the video tutorial above this recipe. A couple of important of tips to remember: 1) before you do anything, make sure to rinse the rice well and let it soak for a few minutes.This will ensure the rice is not sticky and that it will cook quickly and evenly. 2) When the hashweh is ready, leave it covered and undisturbed for a few minutes before serving. Again, this ensures texture but also flavor.
- Recommended for this Recipe All-natural ground allspice and Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil (from organically grown and processed Koroeniki olives)
- SAVE! Try our Ultimate Mediterranean Spice Bundle, or create your own 6-pack or 3-pack of fresh, all-natural and organic spices!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Side dish/entree
- Cuisine: Lebanese
More Recipes to Try
Egyptian Koshari: Rice and Lentils
*This post was originally published in 2014 and has been updated for readers benefit.
What kind of medium grain rice do you use? I know I can use basmati which we always have on hand but wonder what kind of medium grain do you use in middle eastern cooking?
Hi, Kirsten. I just use a package of rice that says “medium grain” from my local grocery store.
I grew up eating hashweh and having it at relatives houses. This version is the best I’ve ever tasted. My husband and son, who are more traditional American style eaters, loved it. Will definitely be doing this again. Thank you!! …. and as they would say “Bless the hands that made this!”
You are very sweet, Theresa! Thank you! So glad your family enjoyed this one!
Love it!! So easy and delicious. I used basmati rice. Didn’t soak it and used same amount of water. I did use low sugar craisins instead of raisins. I will make again!
Thanks for sharing, Christine!
Hello Suzy,
I made this yesterday, it was truly delicious. We have a lot of leftovers, do you think that I can reheat the remains ?
If so, how do you suggest I heat it ?
Yes, absolutely! You can reheat stove-top. Add just a little tiny bit of water. Heat on medium-low, and occasionally stir so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom. Enjoy!
Have you made this with basmati rice?
Hi, Reem! I personally have not. If you go with basmati, know that it cooks differently thank long grain rice. Because of this, I would skip the step of soaking basmati in this one.
I presume you are the Lebanese version of |Homer Simpson as it says “(be sure to also watch the video tutorial below)2 then there is no video tutorial below|| Doh|||||
Hi, Fred! Sometimes browsers block videos due to something in the settings. We are seeing the video here on our end.
Hi Suzy, thanks for the good IT advice as well as the great recipe. I found that my ad-blocking software was preventing me from seeing the video. I “Paused” it for your site. Now it works perfectly.
Yay! That is great to hear!
This was so good! I used brown rice and the same water ratio and it worked great – just let it simmer a bit longer. This is one dish I have always loved but my mom didn’t make it much so I never learned it. I can’t wait to make it for her!
I used the same method the following week and subbed taco spices for the Lebanese spices to make taco bowls. The result was delicious!
Thank you for sharing your variations!!
Just Yummmm, that is all
Haha! Thanks so much! 🙂
Made this with quinoa. Followed the recipe to a t even with subbing rice for quinoa. Came out nearly perfect. Would add a teeny bit more salt during the cooking. Otherwise, absolutely delicious and something I would make again and again.
Thanks for sharing, Liz!
Would it change the taste very much if I used brown rice? In other words, would it be just as good? Thanks!
Hi Dorothy! I think it would still be just as good. Just remember, brown rice cooks differently…it requires more water and longer time to cook. I’d follow the rice package instructions for cooking the rice, but you can certainly adapt the recipe and use the rest of the ingredients.
LOVE your recipes Suzy! We have tried many of them and thoroughly enjoy every one. Thank you so much!
That’s so great to hear! Thank YOU!!!!
Made this along with your Easy White Bean Salad. Both dishes were amazing! Will certainly make them again and looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Thank you.
So glad you to hear you enjoyed both recipes! Thanks, Murray!
I’m going to try this next week. Can you advise on the best type of rice to use? It looks quite short, will paella rice or arborio rice be the most suitable? Or should I check for some special rice in Middle Eastern shops?
You can use long grain or medium grain rice in this recipe, I would not recommend paella or aroborio rice here.
Thank you! In the end I used the universal long-grain rice (not basmati), used little over 1.5 cups of water per 1 cup of rice and it came out perfectly cooked. Both me and my wife loved it 🙂
I’m happy to hear that, Tomas! Thanks for sharing!
What’s the sodium count for this? Looks delish.
That will depend on how much salt you add in here, Brent.
Hello Suzy, thank you for re-posting this wonderful recipe. Last year I “loaned” it to someone to copy, it was never returned. Two years ago I made this with finely minced leftover dark meat turkey, it was perfect. As this was the last of the leftovers, until carcass soup, I also served gravy and on cranberry relish on side. I made this for a visiting relative who now watches you, too! Thank You again! Happy & Healthy Hollydaze!raf
So glad! Enjoy
My husband is Lebanese and makes a version of this with diced stewed tomatoes and chicken. I prefer that the raisins and toasted slivered almonds be heated and stirred into the dish a bit to release the flavors (hence the reason I love reheating leftovers of this dish on the stove, not the microwave) but he is used to just putting those on top at the time of serving as you do. Delicious dish all around!
Thanks for sharing, Tracey!!!